Some, who aren’t familiar with the social commentary of controversial ESPN personality Stephen A. Smith, who happens to be black, might assume that his opinion on the crazy goings-on at Mizzou might be entirely one-sided and completely in favor of the student and student-athlete radicals.
And to that I say, “Allow me to retort!” (That’s funny because that’s a thing that he frequently says).
Though Stephen A. led off with the stipulation that “in this particular situation” he felt like the resignation of university system President Tom Wolfe was a good thing, on Monday’s edition of First Take, Stephen A. quickly pivoted to deliver a stern message to both black and white:
“To white Americans out there, accept the reality that to some level racism still exists. It’s just inescapable. It’s the reality.”
“But to black America, let me make this statement — everyone who’s white is not racist, and it’s important to point that out because with this particular incident it was warranted.”
“We have an obligation to appreciate that there are a lot of people in this God-fearing country that we live in who are not racist. Don’t be so quick to jump. That wasn’t the case here. That was valid. But there are some folk out there who will use this as an excuse to jump on every issue and attach racism to every issue when it may not be that. It may be that somebody just doesn’t like you.”
“When it comes to legislating what’s in somebody’s heart, more often than not, you can’t tell,” Smith said.
Smith covered his tracks admirably with the repeated references to his agreement about how “this particular situation” went down, which he may genuinely agree with. Though it cannot be ignored that if athletes can boycott practice, they can boycott ESPN reporters as well. And Stephen A., to a large degree, gets his info from athlete sources.
However, he certainly spent a whole lot more time addressing black people in that rant than he did white. Stephen A. is known in the sports world for being bombastic, unhinged, and over-the-top. However, on this issue, other than his agreement with the chancellor and university system president’s resignation, he’s closer to right than most.
Meaning, we now live in a world where Stephen A. Smith has become the voice of reason. Jesus will be arriving shortly.
